I know this is late. I purposefully didn’t write about this until now because I wanted to see how things go after some time.
It’s been weeks ever since domain registrar Go Daddy was boycotted. This happened due to their originally supporting SOPA.
As a recap for those who just came in, SOPA is an acronym for Stop Online Piracy Act. It’s a bill being debated in U.S. Congress mainly aiming to shut down domain names for “illegally” sharing or selling copyrighted or counterfeit material.
Its proponents especially aim to target non-U.S. based domain owners. Because it’s practically difficult to impossible to go after them, they figure taking down their domain names is the next best thing.
Much has been discussed about it. As it turns out, many actually objected to it. (including me…)
It was later mentioned online that Go Daddy was among SOPA’s list of supporters. Their lawyer, Christine Jones, was among those who testified and later helped craft the bill in its current form.
Eventually, someone at Reddit expressed outrage over that and “suggested” a boycott. Namely, that people transfer their domain names away from Go Daddy to let them know their sentiment.
Sure enough, many people did exactly that. Sites like TechCrunch, Mashable, Techdirt and Ars Technica showed many people also sharing that outrage towards Go Daddy.
A few days after the mass exodus, Go Daddy released a press statement on the subject. Later events showed their publicly withdrawing their support for SOPA and then opposing it.
It even got to a point where an event called Move Your Domain Day was organized by fellow registrar NameCheap last December 29, 2011. NameCheap’s Move Your Domain Day site indicated about 32,000 domain names moved to them from Go Daddy, although they tweeted they got over 77,000 domain names ever since.
Now, 77,000 domain names seem a lot. From reading other sources – especially DailyChanges.com – writing about it, it suggests that Go Daddy lost around five to six figures in domain registrations.
Was that enough to make a dent on them?
Before answering that question, I’d like to state that whatever figures I give here are mostly give-or-take, more-or-less ones. Only Go Daddy truly knows how many domain names they lost in the SOPA boycott, but they’re not going to share that.
In short, we can only guess based on what can be found.
Now, there’s a site called Webhosting.info (managed by fellow domain registrar DirectI/ResellerClub) that attempts to keep track of domain registrations. Their latest one on Go Daddy doesn’t seem as accurate as before, but I’ll reference them still just to give another possible indication.
Webhosting.info tracks domain stats on a weekly basis. If – emphasis on if – Webhosting.info’s stats are even remotely on target as other sites are:
Their results from December 26, 2011 to January 2, 2012 shows Go Daddy took quite a hit. Those weeks are when people especially boycotted Go Daddy.
(Note to the Webhosting.info folks: I hope you don’t mind I “borrow” a shot from your site for that week while it’s still there. Just contact me if ever.)
Despite those stats giving some figures on how many domain names Go Daddy lost, they still have the lion’s share of domain registrations. Even Webhosting.info shows Go Daddy still has at least 30 million domain registrations, a far ahead number from the likes of eNom or even Network Solutions.
On the other hand, Techdirt subsequently posted that Go Daddy posted a gain rather than a loss. As they explained:
Looking at the results from DailyChanges shows that GoDaddy actually had a strongly positive day, netting 20,748 more domains at the end of the day than the beginning. On transfers alone, there were nearly double the number of transfers in as out (27,843 in to 14,492 out) as well as more new registrations than deleted domains (43,304 new registrations compared to 35,907 deletions).
(As an aside, DailyChanges.com tries to track domain registration stats by their nameservers. If nameservers are changed away from the domain name, that’s a sign the domain name either expired, just changed, or even moved away from the registrar.)
This is similarly observed by popular domain blog TheDomains. TheDomains quoted some numbers from RegistrarStats, which also (at least tries) tracks domain registration stats:
The final tally:
100,000 domain names were transferred away from Godaddy
117,000 domain names were transferred into Godaddy.com
Both TheDomains and RegistrarStats likewise stated some limitations on reporting said numbers. But again, this is to give a more-or-less result.
So going by those, it looks like Go Daddy managed to “ward off” any further losses from this.
So…does this mean the boycott was for nothing?
That probably depends on what you hoped to achieve.
I’ve seen some (if not many) people hoping this boycott would “bankrupt” Go Daddy or drive them to the ground. Unfortunately I think they’re only going to disappoint themselves upon seeing this.
Go Daddy didn’t overtake other registrars to get the biggest share of total domain registrations by essentially doing what others did. Although their marketing was arguably distasteful, I guess it worked because it made more people aware of their brand and gradually grew their numbers.
Personally, I think their consistent marketing and advertising, coupled with their PR about-face, so-called saved them from this. I’m sure some people are still in the midst of transferring their domain names away from Go Daddy, but it’s likely not as full-speed ahead as the past few weeks.
On the other hand, the boycott did get Go Daddy to change their position. They first publicly said they’re withdrawing support from SOPA, then eventually stated they actually (or supposedly) oppose it.
Somewhat funnily, I’ve seen some people still ding Go Daddy for making that abrupt change. I gather that people virtually want Go Daddy to change their position…and they did.
Yet, that still happened. Then again, others opined it’s better if Go Daddy at least remained consistent in their position about SOPA, then just suffer the consequences of making that known.
I also think Go Daddy should’ve stayed firm in their original position of supporting SOPA. The least they could do is perhaps explain why to at least help people understand their reason/s.
For me, Go Daddy actually wants to support protecting intellectual property owners’ rights. At least, that’s what I gather from some of their PR notes, especially from their counsel Christine Jones.
Although I’m obviously no PR expert, I also believe Go Daddy could have handled this one better. As PR professional Jeff Domansky commented on his blog:
Again, a strategic approach would have stayed on message and widened the circle of influence by reaching out before, during and after the hearings using many traditional media and social media channels. The challenge is this is a high level approach to public affairs in stark contrast to Go Daddy’s preferred babes and run and gun marketing. Reacting after critics gain momentum, especially online, is usually a losing proposition.
Thus, Go Daddy could’ve anticipated this and proactively dealt with it before giving critics books to throw at them. At the rate they eventually handled this PR crisis, the only thing they could do was “go with the flow”.
On the other hand, if you boycotted Go Daddy to at least effect a change, then it worked anyway. Go Daddy did change, after all, even if superficially.
Bottom line is, Go Daddy at least acknowledged people’s sentiment about this whole thing. Their actions still leave room for doubt, but they’re now aware what people can be capable of and can/will adjust accordingly to that.
I had a feeling Go Daddy would survive this. If their ex-CEO (now Chairman) Bob Parsons’ elephant-shooting incident last April 2011 was any indication, they’d suffer short term yet recover in the long run.
Mind you, neither Bob Parsons nor any Go Daddy executive – as far as I can find – even acknowledged people’s sentiment over that. On the contrary, Mr. Parsons defended his act instead.
I later blogged about that as well, pointing out how Go Daddy’s stats similarly suffered. However, that downward spiral lasted only for about two weeks before their numbers grew up again.
I’m sure Go Daddy has learned some lessons from this PR double whammy. Only time will tell how they can handle another one as large-scale as the two here, if ever.
In any case, it’s fine if you feel the likes of Go Daddy no longer meets your expectations or doesn’t support your view. Moving away and not doing business with them might be in your best interests, especially if other (and better) choices are out there.
Whatever everyone and anyone thinks and feels about this, one thing’s for sure: everyone moved – and will move – along.
As always, feel free to share your thoughts below, or spread the word online. I’ll just be around.
Sources: Techdirt, Ars Technica, NameCheap, Move Your Domain Day, PR Coach, TheDomains
Check Out These Other Posts:
My Thoughts On The Go Daddy-SOPA Boycott
It’s been weeks ever since domain registrar Go Daddy was boycotted. This happened due to their originally supporting SOPA.
As a recap for those who just came in, SOPA is an acronym for Stop Online Piracy Act. It’s a bill being debated in U.S. Congress mainly aiming to shut down domain names for “illegally” sharing or selling copyrighted or counterfeit material.
Its proponents especially aim to target non-U.S. based domain owners. Because it’s practically difficult to impossible to go after them, they figure taking down their domain names is the next best thing.
Much has been discussed about it. As it turns out, many actually objected to it. (including me…)
It was later mentioned online that Go Daddy was among SOPA’s list of supporters. Their lawyer, Christine Jones, was among those who testified and later helped craft the bill in its current form.
Eventually, someone at Reddit expressed outrage over that and “suggested” a boycott. Namely, that people transfer their domain names away from Go Daddy to let them know their sentiment.
Sure enough, many people did exactly that. Sites like TechCrunch, Mashable, Techdirt and Ars Technica showed many people also sharing that outrage towards Go Daddy.
A few days after the mass exodus, Go Daddy released a press statement on the subject. Later events showed their publicly withdrawing their support for SOPA and then opposing it.
It even got to a point where an event called Move Your Domain Day was organized by fellow registrar NameCheap last December 29, 2011. NameCheap’s Move Your Domain Day site indicated about 32,000 domain names moved to them from Go Daddy, although they tweeted they got over 77,000 domain names ever since.
Now, 77,000 domain names seem a lot. From reading other sources – especially DailyChanges.com – writing about it, it suggests that Go Daddy lost around five to six figures in domain registrations.
Was that enough to make a dent on them?
Before answering that question, I’d like to state that whatever figures I give here are mostly give-or-take, more-or-less ones. Only Go Daddy truly knows how many domain names they lost in the SOPA boycott, but they’re not going to share that.
In short, we can only guess based on what can be found.
Now, there’s a site called Webhosting.info (managed by fellow domain registrar DirectI/ResellerClub) that attempts to keep track of domain registrations. Their latest one on Go Daddy doesn’t seem as accurate as before, but I’ll reference them still just to give another possible indication.
Webhosting.info tracks domain stats on a weekly basis. If – emphasis on if – Webhosting.info’s stats are even remotely on target as other sites are:
Their results from December 26, 2011 to January 2, 2012 shows Go Daddy took quite a hit. Those weeks are when people especially boycotted Go Daddy.
(Note to the Webhosting.info folks: I hope you don’t mind I “borrow” a shot from your site for that week while it’s still there. Just contact me if ever.)
Despite those stats giving some figures on how many domain names Go Daddy lost, they still have the lion’s share of domain registrations. Even Webhosting.info shows Go Daddy still has at least 30 million domain registrations, a far ahead number from the likes of eNom or even Network Solutions.
On the other hand, Techdirt subsequently posted that Go Daddy posted a gain rather than a loss. As they explained:
(As an aside, DailyChanges.com tries to track domain registration stats by their nameservers. If nameservers are changed away from the domain name, that’s a sign the domain name either expired, just changed, or even moved away from the registrar.)
This is similarly observed by popular domain blog TheDomains. TheDomains quoted some numbers from RegistrarStats, which also (at least tries) tracks domain registration stats:
Both TheDomains and RegistrarStats likewise stated some limitations on reporting said numbers. But again, this is to give a more-or-less result.
So going by those, it looks like Go Daddy managed to “ward off” any further losses from this.
So…does this mean the boycott was for nothing?
That probably depends on what you hoped to achieve.
I’ve seen some (if not many) people hoping this boycott would “bankrupt” Go Daddy or drive them to the ground. Unfortunately I think they’re only going to disappoint themselves upon seeing this.
Go Daddy didn’t overtake other registrars to get the biggest share of total domain registrations by essentially doing what others did. Although their marketing was arguably distasteful, I guess it worked because it made more people aware of their brand and gradually grew their numbers.
Personally, I think their consistent marketing and advertising, coupled with their PR about-face, so-called saved them from this. I’m sure some people are still in the midst of transferring their domain names away from Go Daddy, but it’s likely not as full-speed ahead as the past few weeks.
On the other hand, the boycott did get Go Daddy to change their position. They first publicly said they’re withdrawing support from SOPA, then eventually stated they actually (or supposedly) oppose it.
Somewhat funnily, I’ve seen some people still ding Go Daddy for making that abrupt change. I gather that people virtually want Go Daddy to change their position…and they did.
Yet, that still happened. Then again, others opined it’s better if Go Daddy at least remained consistent in their position about SOPA, then just suffer the consequences of making that known.
I also think Go Daddy should’ve stayed firm in their original position of supporting SOPA. The least they could do is perhaps explain why to at least help people understand their reason/s.
For me, Go Daddy actually wants to support protecting intellectual property owners’ rights. At least, that’s what I gather from some of their PR notes, especially from their counsel Christine Jones.
Although I’m obviously no PR expert, I also believe Go Daddy could have handled this one better. As PR professional Jeff Domansky commented on his blog:
Thus, Go Daddy could’ve anticipated this and proactively dealt with it before giving critics books to throw at them. At the rate they eventually handled this PR crisis, the only thing they could do was “go with the flow”.
On the other hand, if you boycotted Go Daddy to at least effect a change, then it worked anyway. Go Daddy did change, after all, even if superficially.
Bottom line is, Go Daddy at least acknowledged people’s sentiment about this whole thing. Their actions still leave room for doubt, but they’re now aware what people can be capable of and can/will adjust accordingly to that.
I had a feeling Go Daddy would survive this. If their ex-CEO (now Chairman) Bob Parsons’ elephant-shooting incident last April 2011 was any indication, they’d suffer short term yet recover in the long run.
Mind you, neither Bob Parsons nor any Go Daddy executive – as far as I can find – even acknowledged people’s sentiment over that. On the contrary, Mr. Parsons defended his act instead.
I later blogged about that as well, pointing out how Go Daddy’s stats similarly suffered. However, that downward spiral lasted only for about two weeks before their numbers grew up again.
I’m sure Go Daddy has learned some lessons from this PR double whammy. Only time will tell how they can handle another one as large-scale as the two here, if ever.
In any case, it’s fine if you feel the likes of Go Daddy no longer meets your expectations or doesn’t support your view. Moving away and not doing business with them might be in your best interests, especially if other (and better) choices are out there.
Whatever everyone and anyone thinks and feels about this, one thing’s for sure: everyone moved – and will move – along.
As always, feel free to share your thoughts below, or spread the word online. I’ll just be around.
Sources: Techdirt, Ars Technica, NameCheap, Move Your Domain Day, PR Coach, TheDomains
Check Out These Other Posts: